Some schools to reopen in Muslim-Druze village after brawl

The Education Ministry decided on Sunday night to reopen some schools in the village of Abu Snan after violent clashes between local Muslims and Druze left dozens hurt in a grenade attack on Friday night.

Special-education schools, kindergartens, and elementary schools will open their doors for regular activities Monday following a weekend of clashes that resulted in one person in critical condition and five others seriously wounded.

The decision to open the schools was taken by the Education Ministry’s Northern District Director Oran Simhon, after meeting with police, teachers, and school administrators, Ynet reported.

High schools will only be reopened after a security assessment in the coming days.

Sectarian violence between Muslim and Druze youths in the northern Israeli village had subsided for the most part overnight Saturday after a heavy police presence was deployed in the area to prevent further clashes.

A makeshift firecracker was hurled at a coffee shop in Abu Snan early Sunday morning, causing damage to the building, police said. No one was injured in the attack.

Seventeen people remained hospitalized in a nearby hospital in Nahariya after the massive Friday night brawl, Israel Radio reported.

Most of them were hurt by a fragmentation grenade used during the fighting. Protesters also used live ammunition in the brawl.

The head of the Abu Snan municipality, Nuhad Mishlav, said the fighting broke out following a stabbing attack between two high school students, one Muslim and one Druze, after the two exchanged insults online.

The Times of Israel staff contributed to this report